Resolution eyes £800m in Axa June 20, 2010 Clive Cowdery’s insurance consolidation vehicle, Resolution, is hoping to free up around £800m from the inherited estate of Axa’s UK business if its £2.8bn takeover goes ahead. Axa had previously sought permission from the Financial Services Authority to expatriate excess funds from the group’s with-profits life assurance portfolios over the next two years, and Resolution [...]
Troubled retailer bounces back June 20, 2010 USC, the chain of youth fashion outlets owned by Scottish private equity magnate Sir Tom Hunter, has returned to profit after going through a pre-pack administration in 2008. Accounts filed at Companies House show the clothing house delivered pre-tax profits of £1.3m for the year to January 2010 on revenues of £69m, compared with a loss [...]
Brit waits for higher Apollo bid June 20, 2010 Shareholders in Brit Insurance, the Lloyd’s of London company, are waiting to see if US private equity player Apollo will raise its £770m buyout bid this week. Brit Insurance’s largest investors have dismissed Apollo’s offer of £10 per share as speculative, suggesting they want at least £11 per share.
TPG BAGS REPUBLIC FOR £300M June 20, 2010 TPG Capital, the US private equity giant behind the controversial “quick flip” of Debenhams in 2006, has moved down the market capitalisation scale to buy youth fashion retailer Republic for £300m. TPG aims to double the number of Republic outlets in the UK and Ireland from 103 to more than 200. The transaction marks a 4.7 [...]
Ocado to report a healthy sales drive June 20, 2010 THE online grocer, Ocado, aims to make its stock market debut by the middle of next month and is expected to make a formal announcement next week. The company has achieved soaring sales but has yet to make a pretax profit. Ocado hopes to achieve a valuation of £1bn and has appointed JPMorgan Cazenove, UBS [...]
Telstra agrees to £6.5bn Australian internet upgrade June 20, 2010 INTERNET group Telstra has agreed an A$11bn (£6.5bn) deal with the Australian government to roll out a national broadband network, after nearly a year of negotiations. The company, which was part-owned by the State until 2006, will replace its copper and cable internet network with a fibre-optic service and lease it back to the Australian [...]
Ocado June 20, 2010 THE former Goldman bankers behind Ocado certainly have chutzpah. Trying to reach a £1bn valuation in a flotation is a tall order for pretty much any firm in these times; to do so without having turned a single penny of profit is nothing short of brazen. Ocado’s product is top-drawer in many respects, there’s no [...]
EMI names new chief executive June 20, 2010 EMI, the troubled record label, has changed its top management for the second time this year, weeks after private equity owner Terra Firma persuaded its investors to pump another £105m into the business. Chief executive Charles Allen and Lord Birt, chairman of EMI’s holding company Maltby Capital, have stepped down to become advisers to Terra [...]
Business rent disputes fall 23pc June 20, 2010 Last year saw 23 per cent fewer arguments between businesses and landlords over commercial rents, as recession-hit property owners held off raising prices to keep a grasp on tenants. City law firm Trowers & Hamlin worked out 6,600 rent disputes were referred to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors last year, compared with 8,535 in [...]
Facebook looks to boost profile June 20, 2010 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is set to make a rare on-stage appearance this week as the social networking site looks to improve its advertising revenues. Zuckerburg is set to receive the “media person of the year” award at the Cannes Lions Internation Advertising Festival after being interviewed by its audience of agency and marketing [...]
